Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1483 Beining ([-])

"In terms of shipping value, the Tiete River is not a good river, and it can even be said to be relatively poor." Wang Zhijie, who was wearing a woolen coat, stood by the bushes on the south bank of the Tiete River and said in a rather regretful tone.

It will be mid-winter in August. Even though the latitude of Beining is not high, because it is located on a plateau, it is actually relatively cold in the so-called March and September seasons of the year. Therefore, almost everyone in this expedition team wore relatively strong, Heavy clothes, and because Wang Zhijie had a cold, he specially added a woolen coat to keep out the cold.

"This river is not very good." Meng Xiaohu, who was sitting on the ground beside him, smacked his lips, shook his head and said, "The river is winding and difficult to navigate, and the dangerous banks are densely covered, and even the riverbed in many places is not deep enough, so the problem is really big. In fact, the past two years have been good. The year before last, there was a lot of rainfall, and the suburbs of Beining County flooded once, and the roads built with a lot of effort were washed away. I still remember Mr. Xu Yu and Xu The commissioner's speechless expression, hehe, the blow is really too big, it is not easy to build a road in Beining..."

The great flood in 1665 was actually not very big in terms of damage, at least it did not hurt too many people or livestock, and the damage to houses, fields and orchards was also very small.The reason for this situation is actually related to the fact that the population and area of ​​Beining County are not large enough (after all, it is not the super metropolis with a population of more than 2000 million in Brazil in later generations), and the Portuguese chose extremely poor locations when they established towns. Well, most of them are located on relatively high terrain, so even if there is a flood, the adverse impact has been reduced to a minimum. This is probably a blessing in misfortune.

But in any case, the objective fact of the Tiet River flooding still exists.If the population here increases greatly in the future, and the urban areas, fields, pastures, orchards, and factories begin to expand to the periphery, they will inevitably be affected by the flooding of the Tiete River, which must be observed.Therefore, the dredging, deepening, and widening of the Tiete River channel must be carried out in the future, otherwise there will be great hidden dangers after the city develops in the future; The construction of lakes and other tributaries) must not be left behind, and it must be heavily invested. Only by doing so in a two-pronged manner and using multiple methods can it be possible to turn the Tiet River into a benefit and benefit the people in the Beining area.

However, this does not happen overnight. Like the water control project in the Hejian area, it is a long-term and arduous task. It is only possible to plan for continuous investment and transformation for 50 years, 100 years or even longer. Take care of this river.For the Beining area with a population of just over 9 and more than ten townships in four counties, let’s take it step by step. The comprehensive governance of the Tiet River should be in line with the speed of economic development, not too advanced, of course more Don't lag behind too much. In short, everything is on track, but you must not give up halfway.After the reform and opening up of the later generations, China's 30-year water conservancy construction investment default, and the consequences and lessons brought about by it, will not be unknown to travelers.

"Let's check the supplies. I've been out for so long, and I don't know when I'll be able to go home." Wang Zhijie tightened his clothes and said.As the leader of the expedition, he is very dissatisfied with the progress of the recent period.It has been several days since the last replenishment in Jingsai Town, but they have not gone far at all. They are still trudging along the winding and difficult Tiete River. target at the junction of the lower Te River with the Paraná River.

"It seems that there are not many at the moment, but we have to save some food. Moreover, I think we should start to resume hunting operations. It is impossible to live on the supplies we carried at the beginning when we go out to explore. This is unrealistic, especially In such a place along the Tiet River that no bird shit. In fact, I am very puzzled and annoyed now. These Portuguese, who are said to have colonized this place for more than 100 years, have they done nothing during this year? What happened? Basically most of the cities are concentrated in the coastal areas, and the inland towns are smaller, and even some large manors are not much worse than them. I really don’t know what to say. These birdmen have colonized the inland for more than 100 years The pace is too slow, and this good land is in vain." Meng Xiaohu scratched his knotted hair, and said in a tone of hatred: "Now the inland area is barren, and occasionally some manors are mostly abandoned. (This seems to be the pot of the people on the east coast...), even the Indians can't be seen, no one provides us with food, we can only rely on ourselves, and the traffic conditions are so poor. Alas, this expedition is estimated to take place next year Already!"

Meng Xiaohu's words resonated with the team's grooms, veterinarians, cooks, surveyors, guards, cartographers, botanists, doctors, etc., but soon stopped when Wang Zhijie stared at him.Meng Xiaohu laughed, got up from the grass, and ran to the other side to help cook. The cooks over there were setting up large and small iron pots. The fresh fish caught in the Tiete River has also been cleaned up, and the cook is going to make a fish soup later to help the two people in the team who have sick feet supplement their nutrition.

In addition, the guards also dragged their tired bodies and consciously stood outside to guard and watch.They are all excellent recruits from retired veterans, supplemented by some Shandan people who can move freely in the mountains and forests (they are all people who have lived in St. The familiar Indians and the surrendered Mameluco formed the expedition's security and reconnaissance force.

After seeing everyone performing their duties, Wang Zhijie leaned against a big tree and began to write the expedition diary: "...I believe that if we don't start decisive action immediately, we will all starve to death, because Beining The food given to us by the regional administration is only enough to last until early October, and the remaining sugar, tea, tobacco, and alcohol can only be eaten until September 10. There are only a few boxes of canned food left, and they are very heavy. It is very inconvenient for us to carry it. It is impossible to use a boat to transport us supplies from the Beining area, because as far as we know from the survey along the way, there are already a lot of dangerous shoals and torrents, not to mention there are many river sections with large drops. The poor navigation conditions are the only ones I have seen since my expedition, and even many rivers on the Patagonian platform have better navigation conditions than the Tete River..."

"Since the river is impassable, there is little hope of transporting supplies by mules and horses by land, because the distance is too far and the road is too difficult. In order to deal with this difficult situation, I have already planned to mark a place on the map. Ten people were left at the No. [-] site to set up a post and temporary camp, and half of the remaining flour was given to them. For this reason, they had to receive a few patients who suddenly fell ill these days and take good care of them until we arrived here again on our return journey. If possible If not, they still need to hunt nearby, and at the same time send someone to deliver a message to Jingsai Town, don’t expect that poor town to give us much help, but at least they can ask for some crucial salt, wine and medicine.”

"Yesterday I wrote my third report since my departure. In this report (August 1667, 8), I first stated the importance of the results of this expedition along the Tiet, and the resulting next steps. Changes in operational deployment. My expedition team has fallen into a more difficult situation due to unexpected disease attacks, but we still have no intention of giving up. Along the way, we took advantage of the favorable opportunity of lower water levels to pass through bark boats. To the west, we checked the conditions on both sides of many river sections. The focus of our investigation is firstly how likely this place will be flooded, and secondly, what is the soil condition of this place and whether it is easy to set up agricultural settlements. Finally, we investigated It is the terrain, that is, which places are suitable for building military outposts, and then relying on this, we can announce to the Indian residents who may meet around us that they are now protected by the East Coast Republic of China, and we will properly arrange their future lives and so on."

After writing this, Wang Zhijie picked up another notebook and took stock of the materials counted by the people below.He didn't take a closer look at the food, because he knew how much there was, and this was what he paid the most attention to every day.At this time, he valued some other supplies, and recorded them in his diary: "Our expedition has 65 healthy members so far. We have an ultra-light artillery that can fire small shells, and four barrels. Gunpowder, six barrels of pellets, and sixty flintlocks (one tenth of which are already useless.) In addition, a hide boat with three seats, a bark boat with three seats, and oars , These two ships were built on the spot by skilled craftsmen in Jingsai Town."

"The above are the current combat equipment and vehicles of our expedition. I am very worried that once we encounter a slightly larger Indian tribe (this is not a small possibility), we may fall into their siege. They There are many times more people than we are, and the ever bully will rush up and try to tear us apart if anyone gets mad enough to think we are offending their domain or property, or if we take a wrong, cowardly step. Many, strong, and possibly some stockpiles of muskets and ammunition, likely to overwhelm us in battle. We cannot hope for aid or retreat, as our nearest stronghold, Jingsai, is still far away... ..."

After writing these "annoying" diaries, Wang Zhijie let out a long breath.Exploring the banks of the Tiet River is hard work, even far more than the Orange River Basin in South Africa and some tropical grasslands in the Yicheng area where he worked before. The main reason is probably the complex terrain and dense forests here. Traffic The degree of difficulty is even worse than that in South Africa. In many cases, we have to open roads in forests and build bridges in water, which is very hard.

Not to mention the Indian threat.Because of the relatively good living environment along the Tiete River, the existence of Indian tribes mainly engaged in fishing, hunting and nomadic farming is a high probability event. Even after years of hunting by the Portuguese, there should still be many of them.What's more, there were quite a few "free Indian tribes" that accepted the naturalization of the Portuguese (of course, freedom is only theoretical). Anarchy has returned, and the attitudes of these Indian tribes are extremely suspicious and must be treated with caution.You must know that the saying that people on the east coast treat Indians cruelly is now spreading more and more among Indians. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty for the east coast government to naturalize and rule these aborigines. Farmers and expedition members have brought many unnecessary troubles.

But so what?Complain about the country's policies?How can it be!Wang Zhijie shook his head helplessly.

"After eating, take a good rest, and then help the left-behind personnel to build a simple outpost. The name is No. [-] outpost. It will be used as a prospect base for us to control the Tiet River in the future. If people in the Beining area want to develop here , as long as the economic strength of Jingsai Town is enriched, and then use it as a base to continuously send immigrants here. After a long time, it will almost be occupied, and the premise is that the work of suppressing bandits must be in place." Wang Zhijie sat down on his butt When he arrived at Meng Xiaohu's side, he took a bowl of boiling hot tea from him, drank it comfortably, and said, "It's enough to keep ten people, and leave the cannon to them too. A burden. Give 'em seven guns, two dogs, some gunpowder, pellets, and a little flour, and they'll go hunting, and that'll be enough to last us till we get back. And if they're lucky, If Jingsai Town spares no effort to send people to deliver a batch of supplies with a team of mules and horses, then they will be happy."

"I hope that's the case. The Beining area is now a hot time when people are excited and working hard. If you don't keep up with us, come and help us." Although Meng Xiaohu said so, he didn't have much hope in his heart. After all The road is too difficult to walk a little bit, if only the Tiet River can be navigated, alas!

After lunch, everyone started cutting wood to build a simple outpost, and then assigned the left-behind personnel.After finishing all this work, most of them set off again the next day. It is still the old rule, exploring and measuring while opening the road, and the channel and bed of the Tiete River are the most important things, but there has been nothing exciting. Exciting news.

Wang Zhijie reckoned that he would probably have to go farther, and wait until the main stream of the Tiete River gathered the water volume of many tributaries, and the river channel would be washed deeper and wider before ships of a certain size could navigate, not as it is now. , can only walk away the animal skin boats and bark boats they carry.However, when we reach those navigable places, we have almost reached the lower reaches of the Tiet River, which is close to the middle and upper reaches of the Paraná River. That is really not good news for the Beining area, which is looking for a way to the outside world. .

"If the Beining area wants to develop, at least going west through the Tiete River is out of the question. There is no way. I guess in the future, I still have to turn my head and look eastward, and turn my attention to the Atlantic coast in the east again." You thoughts spread endlessly: "I don't know if they have the capital to fix the road? I'm afraid they don't. Then they will really be left farther and farther away by neighboring areas like Hue."

(End of this chapter)